That's a tough call; personally I'd take the NW Kennedy School combo. But the travel situation might be hard. With the NW/KS option you get an equal quality legal education and a superior policy school. You also get the benefit of having a connection to two prestigious universities and their alumni network as opposed to just one. That might not matter to some people, but I would count that as a positive. Congratulations though, you really can't make a bad decision.

Well, I think Pitt offers better jobs prospects in Pittsburgh and western PA and I think we also do better in DC [especially now that have the DC externship program]. I don't think we do as well in Philly as PSU and definitely not as well as Nova.

You can live in Oakland, which is where Pitt is. But I would suggest looking into Squirrel Hill and Shadyside. It's a nicer, quitter and just as affordable. The vast majority of law students and graduate students live in these two neighborhoods. They're extremely accessible by bus - which is free to Pitt students. Everyone takes the bus in to Oakland every morning. Craiglist is where most people find their apartment. If you can visit the city, walking around especially in Shadyside, is the best way to find a good place.

both top 1/2, do you like the school, are you happy with your decision? Have you worked with career office (ive heard some negative reviews). Any friends at PSU? Thanks for your help

I'm very happy with my decision. I love it here, I honestly didn't think that law school would be such a great experience. I have interacted with CS. It depends on who you work with. But, we did just fire the head of career services [I mean, she left to "spend more time with her family"] so they'll be bringing in someone new from outside the law school. That's how Dean Crossley rolls -she looks outside of the school to add quality people.

I'm from MI so I don't know anyone that goes to Penn State. Although, there a several PSU ugrads here.

** Random CS fact of the day: Partners from Orrick Herrington Sutcliffe - www.orrick.com - were on campus today discussing the changes to their firm and talking about recruiting students from Pitt. They'll be doing OCI at Pitt in the fall, for the first time. Orrick is a very good, very large global firm.

Start by ignoring the rankings. Make the decision based on debt, location and your feel/personal comfort with the school. The SLU will do better in St. Louis and WM will do better in Twin Cities, neither will do much outside the immediate region.

I'm a 1L at Pitt, if you have specific questions I'd be happy to answer them. But overall, I have several friends working for the AG in Harrisburg, in da's offices outside the city, and a lot of 1L's are working for judges either here in the city or in the surrounding counties.

Are there any conditions on the scholarships that would make a difference?

I would go with Cincinnati. The cost difference is not that great, especially since you have a 2/3 chance of not getting the scholarship back - not being a downer, I'm just saying. The reputation of Cincinnati will likely be worth it even if you do keep your scholarship at Chase.

I think you can clearly narrow it down to UM and ND. I think ND is the better school, but you cant go wrong with either of them. Have you visited both? That'd be the best place to start. But, all things considered I would choose ND, the strength and commitment of the alums makes all the difference I would need.

Make of a copy of your offer letter from the school giving more money and send it to the other school and politely ask whether there is anything they can do, highlighting the cost difference. This seems to be the most common tactic.